THPO and hepatocellular carcinoma: To consolidate evidence of possible cross-regulation between THPO and VEGF-A in HCC, siRNA technology was used to analyze the mutual effect on mRNA and protein expression of the alternative ablation of THPO or VEGF-A, using as model two c-mpl expressing liver cancer cell lines, Huh7 and HepG2, grown in a hypoxia chamber (1% O2) to mimic the in vivo hypoxic condition of the tumor.